Tag: Rio de Janeiro

Travelling to Rio De Janeiro

In the month of June we travelled to Rio De Janeiro. We were fortunate enough to fly on British Airways in Business Class using staff travel from Heathrow Airport. As we were boarding the plane we noticed 2 armed police officers with a man in handcuffs it was clear that this man was being deported back to Brazil. Due to being in Business Class fortunately we were not sat anywhere near the Police or the man. The flight was around 11 hours 50 mins but did not seem that long as the cabin crew were very attentive and provided us with al a carte meals and lovely drinks. We arranged a private transfer which took about 25 minutes and cost £20 return.

Accommodation

Finally we arrived at Rio Othon Palace at Copacabana beach which we were staying at for 4 nights. The hotel was ideally situated on Avenue Alantica and we had an excellent view of the beach from our hotel room balcony. The hotel costs around £100 a night in June. The rooms are very clean and were adequate for our stay. Additionally there is a roof top pool which is small but again adequate. We didn’t go in the pool as we were only in Rio a short time and wanted to make the most of sight seeing.

Safety in Rio De Janeiro

Prior to visiting Rio we had been warned to be careful at night due to muggings so we were mindful of this when we went out for a walk on the first evening, but the streets were fairly busy and we didn’t encounter any problems.  Please check out the government website for safety and security advice when visiting Rio https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/brazil/safety-and-security

Full day tour of Rio De Janeiro

Whilst we were walking around Rio De Janeiro we were approached by a tour guide who offered us a full days tour of Rio De Janeiro for £60 which seemed like a good deal. The guide showed us his ID and the company he worked for which all seemed good. The tour was even better than described, the guide spoke excellent English and was very informative.

San Corado Beach

Firstly we were picked up from outside our hotel and headed off to San Corado Beach where there were a number of hand gliders floating down from the Pedra da Gavea mountain.  The San Corado Beach is famous for the hand gliding which is very popular with both tourists and locals. On the hills above the beach there is the largest Flavela of Rochinha.

National Park of Tijuca

Our next destination was the Tujica rainforest which was declared a National Park in 1961. Tijuca rainforest is described as the largest urban rainforest in the World but not sure if this is actual correct as other rainforest also tries to claim this title. A lot of the rainforest has already been cut down for development of Coffee and sugarcane farming. Fortunately due to its status has a National Park the rainforest will now be protected. Our guide showed us around the National Park providing us with information along the way. The National Park is beautiful and definitely worth a visit. From the National Park of Tijuca there were amazing views of the city to be seen.  We also saw our first glimpse of Christ the Redeemer from here, looking spectacular in the distance. 

Favelas

As the minibus took us around the city we saw a number of favelas which our tour guide told us were safe enough to walk through waving your I-phone around, but we weren’t too sure about that and so decided to give that a miss.  The army vehicles situated right outside the entrances to the favelas didn’t give us any confidence either! Rochinha is the largest hill Favela in Rio and even in the whole of Brazil. During the World Cup of 2018 the Flavelas of Rio hit the headlines with regards to the drugs and the mistreatment of residence of the favelas whilst the stadiums were being built.

Christ the Redeemer

Finally we arrived at Christ the Redeemer which is the fourth largest statue of Jesus Christ in the World. The statue stands at over 2310ft tall. The minibus parked up and we then embarked on our walk up to the top.  We were very excited to be seeing our first of the seven modern wonders of the world, and when the statue came into full view it didn’t disappoint.  It was well worth the walk.  It was pretty crowded up there and so getting a photo of the two of us without anyone else in was a challenge, but we finally managed to take one. Seeing the Christ the Redeemer was the highlight of the day.

Santa Teresa

After spending some more time admiring the wonderful views from the top, it was on to our next stop, the Santa Teresa neighbourhood.  This was a very colourful village where all of the lamp-posts were brightly painted and was full of quirky buildings and artist’s studios.  It also is home to a very interesting tram museum.  We spent about an hour wandering round the narrow streets, before heading into the city to see the Serlaron Steps.

Selaron Steps

Our final destination was the Seleron Steps Selaron Steps, a beautiful set of tiled steps created by the Chilean artist Jorge Selaron as “my tribute to the Brazilian people”.  The steps connect the neighbourhoods of Lapa and Santa Teresa.  Selaron has added tiles from around 60 countries and there are now over 2,000 tiles added to the staircase.  Apparently both U2 and Snoop Dogg have recorded music videos on the steps!

Cocabana Beach

The beautiful Cocabana beach is lovely and we walked on this most days and did not feel threatened but we were very cautious to keep our valuables safe. On one of the days there were 100’s of Santa’s, elves etc which was very strange in the middle of June but everyone seemed to be having a great time. It turned out that it was 25 years since Santa school started and May, June is the time they start growing their beards for the Christmas period (not 100% sure if this was the reason but this is what we were told).

Bars and Restaurants

The bars in Rio de Janeiro vary as in most places. You can find the usual cocktail bars where you pay around £5 a cocktail and around £2.60 a pint of beer. The smaller bars are cheaper with around £2.10 but not much choice of cocktails. Eating out in a mid – good range restaurant costs around £25 for two (Not including drinks). There are some bars that are just put up for the evening and are selling drinks from small carts. We sat at one of the carts and had a Caipirinha just to give the guy some custom. The drink was lovely and a lot cheaper than the bars. Many of the bars on the front were pretty quiet not sure if this was due to the time of year or if this was due to the risks of mugging etc.

Summary

Rio is an amazing place to visit with lots to see and do. We would recommend anyone to visit here. You have to be aware of the risks when walking around especially at night. We never came across anything that made us worried or felt threatened.

Images

Things to do

• Visit Christ the Redeemer
• Visit Sugarloaf Mountain
• Visit the Selaron Steps
• Visit Santa Teresa
• Visit Copacabana Beach
• Visit Tijuca National Park

Top tips

• Book sightseeing with the hotel or a trusted tour guide. Our guide spoke good English and was very informative.
• Keep as many of your valuables in the safe in the room as possible.
• Be alert when walking on the beach and streets.
• Try and avoid the beaches on an evening.
• If going to see Christ the Redeemer try and avoid the busiest times as it is hard to get photo’s without a stranger in the picture.
• Lots of photo opportunities so ensure camera and/or phone is fully charged.
• We did not go to Sugarloaf Mountain which is accessible by cable car and we regret not having the time to do this.
• Check out temperatures below for best times to visit Rio de Janeiro
• Check out other destinations we have visited in Brazil. Please click on the following links Foz Do Iguacu, Praia do Forte
• Check out the government safety advise before visiting Brazil. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/brazil/safety-and-security